Robotics is a comprehensive technology; a small robot is the culmination of automatic control, measurement, computer technology, artificial intelligence, mechanics, materials, and communication technologies. So, what high-tech aspects are involved in industrial robots? And what is the current state of progress of these technologies?
[Robot Manipulator Structure]
By employing modern design methods such as finite element analysis, modal analysis, and simulation design, the optimized design of robot manipulators can be achieved. New high-strength, lightweight materials are being explored to further improve the load-to-weight ratio. For example, robotics companies like KUKA in Germany have changed the parallel parallelogram structure of robots to an open-chain structure, expanding the robot's working range. Furthermore, the application of lightweight aluminum alloys has significantly improved robot performance.
Furthermore, the adoption of advanced RV reducers and AC servo motors makes the robot manipulator virtually maintenance-free. Mechanisms are evolving towards modularity and reconfigurability. For example, the servo motor, reducer, and detection system are integrated into a single joint module; the entire robot can be constructed by recombining joint modules and link modules; modular assembly robots are already available on the market abroad. Robot structures are becoming more agile, and control systems are becoming increasingly smaller, with both moving towards integration. The use of parallel mechanisms and robot technology to achieve high-precision measurement and processing represents an extension of robot technology towards numerical control technology, laying the foundation for the future integration of robots and numerical control technologies.
Robot Control System
Open and modular control systems are emerging. The trend is towards PC-based open controllers, facilitating standardization and networking. Increased component integration has led to smaller control cabinets with modular structures, significantly improving system reliability, ease of operation, and maintainability. Control system performance has further improved, evolving from controlling standard 6-axis robots to controlling 21 or even 27 axes, achieving software servo control and fully digital control. Human-machine interfaces are becoming more user-friendly, with language and graphical programming interfaces under development. Standardization and networking of robot controllers, as well as PC-based network controllers, have become research hotspots. In addition to further improving the operability of online programming, the practical application of offline programming will be a research focus; offline programming has already been implemented in some fields.
Robotics Sensing Technology
According to Yihe Intelligent Manufacturing Institute, sensors are playing an increasingly important role in robots. In addition to traditional position, velocity, and acceleration sensors, assembly and welding robots also utilize laser sensors, vision sensors, and force sensors. This enables automatic weld seam tracking, automatic object positioning on automated production lines, and precision assembly operations, significantly improving robot performance and environmental adaptability. Remote-controlled robots employ multi-sensor fusion technology, utilizing vision, sound, force, and touch sensors for environmental modeling and decision-making control. To further enhance robot intelligence and adaptability, the use of multiple sensors is key to solving related problems. Research focuses on effective and feasible multi-sensor fusion algorithms, particularly those for nonlinear, non-stationary, and non-normally distributed conditions. Another challenge is the practical application of sensing systems.
[Network communication function]
The latest robot controllers from Japan's YASKAWA and Germany's KUKA have achieved connectivity with CANbus, Profibus buses, and some networks, enabling robots to take a big step from independent applications to networked applications, and also enabling robots to evolve from dedicated equipment to standardized equipment.
Robot remote control and monitoring technology
In high-risk environments such as nuclear radiation, deep water, and toxic environments, welding or other operations require remotely controlled robots to replace humans. The development of modern remote-controlled robot systems is not characterized by the pursuit of fully autonomous systems, but rather by the focus on human-robot interaction and control. This involves remote control combined with locally autonomous systems to form a complete monitoring and remote control operating system, enabling intelligent robots to move from the laboratory to practical application. The Sojourner robot launched by the United States to Mars is the most famous example of the successful application of such a system. Coordinated control between multiple robots and operators can be achieved through networks to establish large-scale robot remote control systems, allowing for pre-display remote control even in situations with time delays.
Virtual Robotics Technology
The role of virtual reality technology in robotics has evolved from simulation and preview to process control, such as enabling operators of remotely controlled robots to feel as if they are in a remote working environment. Based on multi-sensor, multimedia, virtual reality, and presence-based technologies, virtual teleoperation and human-machine interaction of robots are achieved.
[Robot Performance-Price Ratio]
Robot performance is constantly improving (high speed, high precision, high reliability, ease of operation and maintenance), while the price per unit is continuously decreasing. The rapid development of microelectronics technology and the application of large-scale integrated circuits have greatly improved the reliability of robot systems. In the past, the mean time between failures (MTBF) of robot systems was typically a few thousand hours, but now it has reached 50,000 hours, meeting the needs of any application.
Multi-agent control technology
This is a brand-new field of robotics research. It mainly focuses on the architecture of multi-agent groups, the mechanisms of communication and negotiation among them, perception and learning methods, modeling and planning, and group behavior control.
